Package construction



Oct. 31, 1950 E. D. ANDREWS 2,527,692

PACKAGE CONSTRUCTION Original Filed May 20, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR EDWARD D. ANDREWS ATTORNEYJ Oct. 31, 1950 E. D. ANDREWS PACKAGE CONSTRUCTION Original Filed May 20, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR lily/ 5W8 Y A onna EDI'VARD Patented Oct. 31, 1950 2,527,692 PACKAGE CONSTRUCTION Edward D. Andrews, Akron, Ohio, asslgnor to The Quaker Oats Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of New Jersey Original application May 20, 1947, Serial No.

749,265. Divided and this application Decemher l, 1948, Serial No. 62,881

2 Claims. (Ci. 229-14) The present invention has for its object a new and improved carton or similar container for packaging materials and especially loose materials such as grains, prepared cereals, frozen foods, other food products, and a wide variety of commodities. The particular field for the invention is the packaging of breakfast cereals in small, moisture-vapor resistant packages which are intended to be used for individual services, such as in dining cars or restaurants, where the customer receives his order as a separate package intended to be opened when served, although the invention is not limited to this use.

The ordinary practice in the serving of commodities of this type for individual service is to package the product in a small six-sided carton with top and bottom closures formed of overlapping sealed flaps which are continuations of the main panels. The product may be contained in an inner, moisture-vapor resistant liner or wrapper which is sealed independently of the closing and sealing of the carton.

The methodjust described not only requires a multiplicity of machine operations, but the cost of the packaging material, i. e., the carton and the wrapper, oftentimes exceeds the value of the product contained therein.

It is one object of the invention to reduce the cost of these packages by dispensing with top and bottom closures on the package. The omission of the top and bottom closure flaps creates an open-ended sleeve which reduces the amount of the material which goes into the complete package.

Surrounding the sleeve is a wrapper of moisture-vapor resistant sheeting which is tightly wrapped about the sleeve and folded and sealed across both open ends of the sleeve. This wrapper is made of any of the well known sheet wrapping materials which are commonly employed. It may be moisture-proof cellophane or it may be of any of the well known vinyl-vinylidene chloride sheetings or a sheeting of the rubber hydrohalide type or waxed paper. Ordinary ad hesives or heat-activated adhesivesmay beemployed to make the various sealed seams, or when certain wrapping materials are employed, they may be welded together by heating without the addition of adhesives.

By employing as the main element of the package a sleeve which is open at the ends and applying an outer wrapping of the various types specified, which are completely or partially transparent, the contents of the package are exposed to view, which is an added sales attraction.

The wrapper is tightly applied so that it serves to reinforce the sleeve. The sealing operations at the top and the bottom of the finished package also act as a very substantial reinforcement, with the result that there is obtained a package which is not easily distorted and will hold its shape against any of the forces to which it will ordinarily be subjected. One of the objections to prior packages of this general type has been that the finished container is loose and wobbly and will easily get out of shape, and if the wrapper and sealed upon existing machines after they have been modified to provide f9r. the different order of steps. Carton machines are in extensive use in which the order of steps is the formation of the wrapper or liner as a four-sided bag with one closed end, the application of the outer cardboard or strawboard jacket, forming the closure on one end of the jacket, filling and forming the closure on the liner, and then the final closure on the jacket.

The new form of container has the further advantage that it is made by comparatively simple operations set forth below:

(a) The four-sided cardboard or strawboard sleeve is first formed, and as this sleeve has no closures at top or bottom, the carton end closing and sealing mechanisms are no longer required. (b) The outer transparent wrapper is then applied and sealed along one edge, and one end of the wrapper folded over an open end of the sleeve which now becomes the bottom of the package. (0) The package is now removed from the mandrel on which the operations just described were performed, and in its upright position is filled with the commodity. (d) The filled package now goes to the mechanism which forms the top In the following description and in the accompanying drawing the best known form of the invention is disclosed, but it will be appreciated that changes and modifications may be adopted without departing from the invention as set forth in the appended claims. The machinery for performing the various steps is not shownasmachinesofthistypeareoldandwell known.

In the drawings the several steps employed in the manufacture of a container are shown in their proper sequence from the initial stock to the filled and sealed package; The process shown herein is the subject of a prior application, Serial No. 749,265, filed May 20, 1947, of which the pres-,

ent application is a division. 2

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the blank from which the inner sleeve is formed. Pig. 2 is a plan view of the blank which makes up the outer wrapper.

Fig. 3 shows the formation of the sleeve about the form or mandrel. The mandrel is a part of any standard carton-forming machine.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the mandrel with the outer wrapper applied about the inner sleeve. F1395 is an isometric perspective view showing the lower portion of the wrapper folded and sealed over the outer end of the mandrel, which operation forms the lower closed end of the package.

Fig. 6 is a cross-section through the partially completed package now removed from the mandrel and filled with the commodity.

' Fig. 7 is a top plan view of the package showing the first step in the making of the closure for the top of the package.

Fig. 8 is a cross-section on the line 88 of P 8. '7.

Fig. 9 shows the preferred operation of sealing the mouth of the filled package.

Fig. 10 is an isometric perspective view of the completed, sealed package.

The blank for the sleeve is indicated at l in Pig. 1 and is in the form of a rectangular strip of a strawboard, chipboard or cardboard divided by the transverse parallel folding score lines a. b, c and it into the front and rear panels 2 and 3, the side panels 4 and 5, and the glue flap 6. On the end of the strip remote from the fiap 6, a glue band I is applied which seals the flap 6 to the panel I when the sleeve is formed.

The blank for the wrapper is indicated at It. This is preferably cut from a sheet of a transparent wrapping material of any of the various types indicated above.

, The wrapper blank is slightly wider than the periphery of the sleeve so as to provide an overlapping seam II when the wrapper is applied about the sleeve. A band of adhesive I2 is applied on one edge of the blank to-form the seam II and segregated areas I of adhesive may be placed on the blank to adhere the wrapper to the inner sleeve so as to prevent subsequent separation of the wrapper and the sleeve, if this is found to be desirable. A strip of adhesive I2 is applied near. the lower edge of the blank to form the sealed closure for the bottom of the package.

The wrapper is also considerably longer than the depth of the sleeve so as to provide for the upper and lower closures, as will be described. 7

As the first operation, the sleeve blank I is Y formed about the mandrel l5 and the flap 6 adhesively secured to the edge portion of the side panel 4. The wrapper blank I0 is then applied over the sleeve on the mandrel and the longi- 4 tudinalseam ll formed. Theseam Ii isparallel to the seam formed in the inner sleeve, and the wrappins material forms an enveloping sleeve which extends beyond both ends of the inner sleeve. It will be noted that when the wrapper is applied, the sleeve is somewhat of! center with respect to the blank so as to allow a shorter overhanging portion which extends beyond the mandrel to form the sealed bottom end of the finished package. I

The next operation, which is performed while the partially finished package is still on the mandrel, is the folding and sealing of the overhanging portion of the wrapper. This is done by folding the two long sides of the wrapper together to make the overlapping seam 20 which is adhesively sealed by the adhesive band II, and then the triangular side flaps or tabs 2i are folded and attached to the surface of the wrapper by adhesive as indicated at 22. It is preferred to fold the side flaps against the side panels 4 and I. The transverse seam 20 and the adhesion of the side fiaps to the wrapper make the bottom of the package quite rigid so that it retains its squared-up condition.

The partially completedpackage is then removed from the mandrel and placedon a conveyor belt with the open end up and the belt.

conveys the package to the usual loading mechansizn at which the package is filled as indicated a From the filling station the package is taken to the final. closing mechanism. While any type of closure may be used at this point, it is preferred to spread the extending portions of the wrapper outwardly which brings the wrapper together along the line 25 forming the two parallel upstanding flaps 26 and the triangular tabs 28 which project over the side panels. It is preferred to seal the flaps 26 in face to face relationship as shown at It, and then fold the sealed seam upon itself as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 9. This operation makes a double folded seam II which lies across the top of the package but is not attached to the underlying surface of the wrapper. The triangular side flaps or tabs 28 are then folded against and adhesively sealed to the wrappingmaterial as shown at 32 in Fig. 10. Again it is preferred to fold the side flaps against the side panels. This completes the package forming and sealing operations. The adhesion of the flaps 28 to the wrapper and the seam ll hold this end of the package rigidly.

It will be seen that a very stout package has been formed from comparatively fragile materials. The inner sleeve has no especial rigidity in itself, but after the wrapper is applied and after the seams are formed and the side flaps folded, sealed and adhered to the wrapper, the complete package is very rigid and cannot be easily collapsed. The contents of the package are visible to the user and the package may be readily opened by inserting a knife under the turned-down, folded seam 3|, as indicated by the lead line e in Fig. 10.

Where the terms "top and bottom are employed, these are to be considered relatively. In the packaging of loose materials, the package is filled after one end is closed. While it is preferred to employ an adhesive at the several points where the wrapping material is joined to itself, the seals may be made by welding the ma terial together. The four-sided package is preferred, but other shapes may be adopted. The transverse seams at the top and bottom are preferably formed as shown in each case, but this is not essential and the type of fold and seam may be varied. A fairly rigid construction can be obtained at either end of the package by folding the several side flaps against the end surfaces of the package and attaching them to the wrapper at this point rather than against the sides of the package. This construction is not so desirable because it impairs the visibility of the contents. Other modifications and details of the package construction will suggest themselves to those skilled in this art.

What is claimed is:

1. A package construction comprising an inner sleeve or relatively stiff material, said sleeve having a longitudinal seam and being open at both ends and a sheet of transparent wrapping ma terial snugly embracing the sleeve and having a seam extending parallel to the first-named seam to form an enveloping sleeve about the first named sleeve, said enveloping sleeve extending beyond the ends of the first named sleeve, the wrapping material in the extending ends of said enveloping sleeve being folded over the ends of the first-named sleeve in the planes of the respective ends and brought together in facecontacting relation forming a transverse seam and projecting side flaps, said side flaps being folded against and secured to the transparent wrapping material.

2. A package construction comprising an inner sleeve of relatively stiff material, said sleeve having a longitudinal seam and being open at both ends and a sheet of transparent wrapping material snugly embracing the sleeve and having a seam extending parallel to the first-named seam to form an enveloping sleeve about the first named sleeve, said enveloping sleeve extending beyond the ends of the first-named sleeve, the wrapping material in the extending ends of said enveloping sleeve being folded over the ends of the first-named sleeve in the planes of the respective ends and brought together in face-contacting relation forming a transverse seam and projecting side flaps, said side flaps being folded against the sides of the first-named sleeve and secured to the transparent wrapping material.

EDWARD D. ANDREWS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,486,234 Dickey Mar. 11, 1924 2,032,880 Kinsley et al Mar. 3, 1936 2,115,802 Dame May 3, 1938 2,342,324 Allen Feb. 22, 1944 2,370,680 Moore Mar. 6, 1945 2,375,809 Moore May 15, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 313,606 Great Britain Feb. 20, 1930 429,241 Great Britain May 27, 1935 

